a single woman paying off over $140,000 of debt

[-$69,966] I’m in the 60’s! It’s Outta Sight!

A year ago today, I’d also reached another milestone. I’d just broken the six-figure debt barrier and had only $98,992 of debt at the time. That was cause for celebration. This, reaching the 60’s, is also something to celebrate. I hope this will mark a July milestone trend.

(While we’re in that territory, shout out to Steppenwolf for sharing their ‘Magic Carpet Rides’ with us). 😉

That reminds me…

Put on your boogie threads

Yeah, you know what time it is. It’s time for some CCR.

Creedence Clearwater Revival – Down on the Corner (1969)

Well, my friends, that was a nickel well spent.

Blogger Blast

The One in Debt @ Stupid Debt motivated me to look at my budget and spending after seeing her very detailed accounting ledger. She’s a Gen-Xer and single mom. “$73,335 in debt – I’m going to pay it off d*mn it!”, she declares.

MrsPickyPincher @PickyPinchers writes about frugality, including advice for keeping grocery spending under control. MrsPickyPincher (and her husband) are paying off over $200k in debt including mortgage and student loan debt. They just paid off MrsPickyPincher’s $25k student loan debt in 7 months thanks to some serious monthly mega payments.

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What’s Next

I’m jazzed about being in the 60’s. The 50’s are within sight and that’s when I’ll finally start to feel Iike I’m pushing this infernal boulder downhill instead of uphill.

OMG thank you for the shout out! And I just threw an $800 snowball at that d*mn debt yesterday. Wish I could do it more often.
I love that song. I am going to love the 30s pop culture when you hit another major milestone next year!

Congrats on the extra payment. I know the feeling of having to wait foreverrrrrr to get money for the next payment. You won’t have to wait until next year. I celebrate every $10k of debt payoff as a milestone – 90s, 80s, 70s, 60s and so on. The next stop later this year will be the 50s. 🙂

Thank you! I’m slowly starting to feel less panicked about my debt. Once I get into mid-50s or so, I can start to see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Having already paid off over $30k of credit card debt, I will be back in familiar territory and will feel more confident and less overwhelmed.

You should consider dressing as your decade for the four months or so you spend there. People on the street will be like “what?” as you sashay by in love beads (now) and Mad Men knockoffs (later this year.)

Congrats! It is quite the journey to pay this much debt off and it looks like you are doing very good. One thing that really motivated us was to see how much interest we were paying as well as how much we were saving by paying our loans off early. We saved about $40K in interest by paying our loans off early.

When Michelangelo was asked how he creates his masterpiece sculptures he said he just kept chipping away until he saw David. Chip away and create your financial freedom masterpiece. My wife and I are also tackling our mortgage and we hope to have it conquered in 2.5 years. Discipline and persistence are so under rated because of the time duration over which the results are realized. Good luck to you, very inspiring !!!

Thank you, Parik. Yeah, focusing on the next milestone keeps me motivated. That way I’m much less overwhelmed by the total $100k debt or $69k debt, but instead focusing on knocking out the next $9k. Every payment is a chip. 🙂

Wow! So inspired by you.Your pay off numbers are fan-freaking-tasting! Whew! In one year that is A lot of debt gone.

I so want to reach the high 60s before this year is over. Right now, I am in that turmoil of …save more in the emergency fund or pay down debt phase. I have a goal number idea of EF before end of year and pay down stupid interest rate on this house. Decisions…

About Me

I am Denise, a 40-something single woman living in the U.S. This blog chronicles my slow climb out of deep debt. My “double debt” refers to the $140+K twin terrors of student loan debt ($112,000+) and credit card debt ($30,000+). “Single woman” will address the difficult choices, challenges, and opportunities that those without partners experience when dealing with large debt alone.

After my wake up call (financial trauma) of losing my job in 2013 while carrying over $140,000 in debt, I embarked on the path of extreme saving and minimalism to get my finances in order and ensure some measure of security for my later years.

Here, I write about my successes and failures along with my hopes and fears. I am currently living on 30% of my take home pay, while the other 70% goes toward debt payoff and savings. It’s not easy, but nothing worth doing ever is. Follow my journey…